Giant Portrait Celebrates Premiership Rugby Return
Ahead of the Premiership Rugby restart Twickenham Stadium has been transformed, with three massive portraits of rugby stars placed on the pitch.
The giant art installation, the largest outdoor painting ever created in the UK, was unveiled to celebrate the restart of Gallagher Premiership Rugby on Friday 14th August when Harlequins play Sale Sharks just 200 metres away at the Twickenham Stoop.
The artwork features Harlequins player, Joe Marler, Saracens’ Maro Itoje, and Sale Sharks’ Rugby World Cup winner Faf de Klerk.
A team of eight artists spent more than 24 hours completing the portrait and more than 100 hours of planning beforehand. A bespoke computer program was written to generate the precise measurements that were needed to create the artwork to the exact scale of the stadium.
The image, which occupies most of the 7,000 square metre pitch, was created using a grid comprised of 13,420 elements. Each painted line in the portrait is just 6 inches wide. Nearly 1280 litres of biodegradable pitch marker paint were used for the elaborate creation.
An estimated 150,000 passengers will be able to see the installation from the air on flights in and out of Heathrow airport.
“We are so excited to restart the Gallagher Premiership Rugby season, and it’s been a herculean effort to get here,” said Darren Childs, CEO of Premiership Rugby.
“The pitch portrait is such a spectacular way to celebrate the restart of the Gallagher Premiership Rugby season and let the fans know that rugby is back on our screens again. We won’t take our eyes off the ball when it comes to being safe and secure in the fight against Covid-19, and all precautions are being taken to allow our players to be back doing what they love most – playing rugby.”
British artist John Lundberg, who oversaw the portrait said: “I refer to what I make as conceptual art. When you view the art work up close you can’t really tell what it is but then when you see it from a vantage point it comes together and creates a complete image. It’s an incredible honour to create this piece to celebrate the return of rugby. It’s been such a tough time for sport and many industries, and it’s nice to be a part of bringing this sport back to the people who love it”.
Drones above the ground captured the final images of the artwork (above), with Marler and De Klerk in action in the first game of the restart. All games will be broadcast live by BT Sport.
